Torfamm

I believe the Alaska Railroad can be booked independently. You might also consider a Rail Tour. I did a Princess Lodges rail tour that was completely separate from my cruise and loved it. There was no bus travel nor were there lots of organized group excursions or planned meals. We could pick the excursions we wanted at each lodge or do something on our own. To me it was the best of all worlds - hotels, train tickets and transfers arranged, leave luggage outside your door each departure morning and find it in your room at the next destination but spend each day as you wish. https://www.princesslodges.com/alaska-rail-tours/learn/

I hate the automatic lights. The Enchanted only had the one by the closet but the Caribbean had both. In my opinion they are way too bright, there was no way they wouldn’t wake me up if they turned on. Then I hav to sit and wait for them to turn off so I can try to go back to sleep. Even as a solo I wouldn’t be able to stand it. The ones near the bed were especially ridiculous. They turned on randomly several times during the first night. If they’d asked me, I’d have suggested a nightlight in the bathroom might be helpful but these are worse than nothing.

In our case it was a couple of days. We arrived in Anchorage late on Monday afternoon and sailed from Whitter on Wednesday. We took advantage of the time on Tuesday to do a day trip to the Matanuska Glacier and took a cruise transfer/tour that stopped at Mt. Alyeska and the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the way to Whittier on Wednesday. We booked with Salmonberry Tours and enjoyed both, especially the glacier hike. It was a fantastic experience and I would highly recommend it. https://www.salmonberrytours.com/tour/matanuska-glacier-walk/ https://www.salmonberrytours.com/tour/anchorage-to-whittier-transfer-and-tour/

You can see which nights are scheduled as formal nights in the Journey View activities timeline in the app. Every evening will show either “casual” or “formal” portraits. I’ve seen it populate as much as a couple of months before a cruise.

You can read the details here on the refund of 10% on excursions https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/cc/captains-circle-loyalty-benefits.pdf

I’ve heard here that there are supposed to be drink specials but I’ve never received any information from Princess about it on the letter left in the cabin or in the lounges. Since I’ve always had a package, I’ve never asked

The difference in your examples is that you are not returning to your port of embarkation. You are effectively traveling from Seattle to San Francisco. If you are transported from one US port to another by a ship not registered in the US, it must stop at a “distant foreign port”. That would not include Canada. A closed loop (round trip) that starts and ends in the same port just has to visit a foreign port which could include Canada, Mexico, or a Caribbean island.

Which ship? The main difference is location and it’s all about personal preference. I like to be near Vines (if there is one) since it’s where I am before dinner most of the time and if not, I can grab a glass on my way in to dinner. I don’t like the isolated location of the aft dining rooms that can only be accessed by the aft stairs or elevator. Others like them and think it’s a quieter location.

I’ve never tried them. I just keep watching for the beer cheese to go with them!

We usually tip a few dollars but it certainly isn’t required. I’d tip in USD on cruises from the US and Euros in Europe and either USD or Euros in areas like Southeast Asia where you are in a number of different countries although a local currency would certainly be accepted.

It varies by itinerary. Lookup is here https://www.princess.com/protocol/?fbclid=IwAR15FapmH1Hl74xuV39doqpqNUqsloaI7MtgyycJLQ2HddCercgIV2cuT_M

We just got off the Enchanted and was asked by the Future Cruise/Loyalty Mgr why he hadn’t seen us in the lounge after the first week. When I explained that we’d been joined by friends who are not Platinum or Elite, he invited me to bring them. I would never have asked though. It’s nothing special on the Enchanted so I’m not sure why you would want to bring a guest there. Cheese, carrot sticks and egg rolls in the boring Vista Lounge where there might be 10 people. Grabbing snacks from the buffet would be nicer. Visiting the lounge In Skywalkers on the Caribbean Princess where they served better appetizers like sushi every night when we were there in April would be a nice invitation however and I can imagine wanting to bring a guest. It was always pretty full though. I’m not sure they would even have space to allow everyone to just bring guests It’s interesting how different the experience is from ship to ship. A venue with entertainment, special appetizers and a nice view is a nice perk. I can understand keeping it invitation only.

We took that boat trip yesterday. Spending a day enjoying the sun and sea breeze and having a swim in the Aegean was a great break from museums and archeological sites and the lunch was very nice. I’d recommend it too! https://www.alldaycruise.net/tour/unique-sailing-experience-to-agistri-moni-aegina/

We really enjoyed the tour we did of Ephesus and the Terrace Houses with Curio Travel. We were a group of 4 and everything about the tour was exactly as promised and our guide was terrific. It was much less costly than a ship excursion I would definitely recommend them. We were given the choice to visit or NOT visit carpet, leather, or pottery shops. We were direct with the guide about the fact that we had absolutely no intention of making any purchases. https://www.curiotravel.com/tours/mini-group-tour-1-option-with-terrace-houses-ephesus-artemis-temple?tur_id=23

We were just in Athens twice during a Mediterranean cruise and had a fantastic experience with Hellenic Private Tours. https://hellenicprivatetours.com/ We used them twice. Once for a private tour to ancient Corinth and also for a city tour of Athens. They were easy to book with, responsive to emails, and provided excellent information ahead of time. Once we were in Greece, they were prompt and used very nice Mercedes vans with friendly English-speaking drivers We were impressed with both of our tour guides. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

I had a fantastic experience at the AD Athens Luxury Rooms and Suites. We had a “one bedroom suite” at under 200 Euros per night. I would describe it as small for a suite but very, very spacious for anyone considering a hotel “room” in Europe. It did not have a sitting area separated from the sleeping area, but more of a dressing area with closets and dressing table. It was all brand new and modern. They serve breakfast on a lovely rooftop terrace with a view of the Acropolis and the li action in the Plaka was very convenient for walking to restaurants and visiting the museum and other sites.

This has been true for a long time. I certainly haven’t seen it done any other way since the restart. It seems much more efficient.

I’ve been to The Catch a couple of times. It’s a very nice space and the food was good. They had not received deliveries for both entrees I was interested in (King Prawns and Dover Sole) when we ate there the other day though so it was a bit of a disappointment.

There are no up charges. A couple of new items including chicken fingers have been added. Food is now served on metal trays instead of in baskets.

Under Dine My Way select View or Book Individual Daily Reservations. Your reservations will be visible by clicking the tabs across the top for each day

Thanks. I don’t recall seeing it on the hard copy presented, but I suppose it’s possible I missed it. In any case, I definitely wouldn’t recommend it.

Interesting. In my opinion that is a rare hamburger, not steak tartare. I love a rare burger The appetizer had what appeared to be a fried quail egg on it. The whole thing was room temperature and the sauce tasted like barbecue sauce. With a bun, cheese, and bacon I would have enjoyed it for lunch. If they’d called it seared steak tartare, I’d have known not to order it and waste everyone’s time as well as the food itself A pet peeve of mine is the drastic changing of traditional dishes without describing it as such on the menu. It may be something that lots of people would enjoy, but it is not what the majority of customers think they are ordering when a restaurant has steak tartare on the menu.

I was agreeing with you that there are a number of circumstances where passports are required on a closed loop cruise. I mentioned a second one in addition to your example about minors traveling with only one adult. Sorry for any confusion.

I have very rarely chosen to throw out my lunch or dinner and eat out, but yes, I have to admit it’s happened. I wouldn’t plan to do it though, so I just don’t see it as a great analogy for eating in specialty restaurants Whether specialty restaurants are worth $40 per person is absolutely a subjective decision. I have no issue with the choice to go at all.

Document requirements depend on itinerary, age of passengers in the party and other factors. For example - any Caribbean cruise calling on Martinique or Guadeloupe requires a passport regardless of whether it is a closed loop cruise. If one adult is traveling with one or more minors, Princess requires a passport from everyone in the party on any itinerary. You can see Princess’ Travel Document requirements here https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/prepare-for-your-cruise/